100 Questions

Last September Dropping Knowledge brought together 112 leading thinkers from 56 countries to respond to the top 100 questions posed by individuals from around the globe. The questions and answers are posted on the organization’s website (www.droppingknowledge.org).

What question would you pose? One I have is why do we continue to do what we know does not work? In private conversations, during meetings, at conferences, and in workshops I hear discussed what is wrong with higher education. The literature is full of the same. Yet we continue to perpetuate the very practices about which we complain. How come?

As an example let’s take my pet peeve—grades. I think grades are a key obstacle to learning. Students are obsessed with them. Whoever I speak to—whether student, faculty member, or employer—agrees that grades are a problem. So why do we continue to use grades? I say let’s find better ways to assess learning. The answer I generally receive from those within higher education is that we can’t eliminate grades. Why not? Yes, it means changing the system; not an easy endeavor, but it can be done. It is not that the system cannot be changed; it is that we won’t change it. It is easier and safer to stay with what we know even when it doesn’t work than to exert the effort and take the risk of creating something different.

Why won’t we change what we know doesn’t work? I say the primary reason is fear. Yes, I know all the rationalizations for why changes can’t be made. I heard one speaker say that to rationalize is to perpetuate “rational lies.” Change requires courage, commitment, and community. Change can happen if we work together.

So, what question would you pose to the world?